Trail Blazers Blog

Attorney general defends right of cheerleaders to display religious banners

Attorney General Greg Abbott Thursday entered the legal fray over the display of religious banners at football games by Kountze High School cheerleaders. Controversy has been stirring at the southeast Texas high school ever since cheerleaders began holding up banners with Bible verses which football players would charge through at the opening of their games this season. After threats of a lawsuit from the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Kountze schools Superintendent Kevin Weldon told the cheerleaders they could no longer display the banners during games. But Plano-based Liberty Institute jumped into the dispute and went to court to get a temporary restraining order against the school district, allowing the students to keep showing Bible verses on the field.

Abbott sent a letter to the superintendent on Thursday, offering legal support against the Freedom from Religion Foundation and arguing that the students were well within their rights in carrying the religious banners. “Unlike the cases cited by the FFRF, Kountze ISD has neither made the decision to include a religious message on the cheerleaders’ banner, nor provided any direction as to the content of the cheerleaders’ message,” Abbott wrote. “News reports indicate that these decisions were made entirely by the students. Those same news reports indicate that the banners were made by the cheerleaders off of school property and without the use of school funds.” Because the students were expressing their own religious views without involvement of school officials, they were not in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the attorney general argued.

Abbott’s letter read like a legal opinion, citing a variety of court rulings on religious expression in public schools. “If you decide to allow the cheerleaders to freely display their chosen message on their banners at football games, and if the Freedom from Religion Foundation or any other group sues Kountze ISD as a result, my office stands ready to file a brief with the court protecting the cheerleaders’ religious liberties,” the Republican said. The foundation contended that cheerleaders are representatives of the school and have unparalleled access to the football field. When they display religious banners in that role, it gives the appearance of school-endorsed religious expression – a practice that has been banned by the U.S. Supreme Court, the group said.

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The blog for the Dallas Morning News politics team tracks Dallas Fort Worth area, Texas and national campaigns.